The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 is a set of standards for implementing wireless local area network (WLAN or Wi-Fi) communication. A Task Group is developing a standard for IEEE 802.11ai FILS, which is intended to substantially reduce the time for a Wi-Fi handset/station (STA) to connect with a Wi-Fi AP, also referred to sometimes as a wireless access point (WAP). Examples of STAs include computer desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones equipped with wireless communication capability. Examples of APs include wireless modems and wireless routers, such as IEEE 802.11 modems/routers. The Task Group for IEEE 802.11ai is also referred to as TGai. IEEE 802.11ai provides a media access control (MAC) layer protocol for fast authentication and association of a Wi-Fi handheld with a Wi-Fi access point.
TGai requires FILS support in APs. In a WLAN, an AP periodically broadcasts a standard beacon frame to advertise the existence of a basic service set (BSS). The period of broadcast is typically about 100 milliseconds (ms), which is equivalent to 10 Hertz (Hz) in frequency. In IEEE 802.11ai, the FILS should be established between a STA and an AP within about 100 ms, including the STA detecting a beacon from the AP and then associating with the corresponding AP and establishing a link. This FILS time requirement is comparable to the typical beacon broadcast period from APs. Since additional time is still needed to associate a STA with an AP after detecting the beacon, meeting the FILS successful total association time requirement represents a challenge in current implementation.